Mezzanine Railing

 

We worked closely with the owners of Trailhead Athletics in coming up with this design. The cutouts were inspired by a similar wall spotted around a church while on a ski trip in Italy. They wanted the style of the wall they saw, but with their own twist on the geometric shapes.

100% steel, mounted to the I-beam in the flooring, and the walls.







We decided that square cutouts were going to be the way, so we got out the paper and scissors and mixed things around until it spoke to us.

Just right. Time to plasma out the cut outs. No two panels are the same, they are consistent in their look, but the order of the square placement is completely random.













Lots of cut outs, and lots of mounting tabs.







Prepare all the components for assembly, and weld it up!



 

A day of installation, and voila'. A mezzanine railing of European soul.

 

 

 

 

Need a custom railing for your mezzanine? Lets us know!

metalboxdesigns@gmail.com

 

Randoms...

Metalbox Industrial Designs is a dynamic collaboration of design and construction.

We like to be challenged, think on our feet, and figure things out...

Well, we never really say no.

 

That leads us winding up with some pretty random stuff!

That's what this post is about-

~Alley Cat Trophy~

Yes, a MTB Pennyfarthing. Complete with suspension, disc brakes, and dropper post.

 
 

~Heat Exchangers~

 

We designed these for a local distillery. They were looking to speed up, and have more control over the cooling process of their still.

Clam-shell style mounts with aluminum fins pull the heat out of their stainless steel piping much quicker, and more predictably. A part of fine tuning their already completely dialed process.

 

~Step Brackets~



These guys were designed for a custom fit. Mounted to the last tread of an unusual staircase, bolted to a timber and buried in concrete. All function on these, form just didn't have to factor in.




We at Metalbox love to design and construct. If you have a project you've been thinking about give us a shout. We'd love to talk you through the design process, help you decide on material, and build whatever you can dream up. It's what we do.

Thanks for taking a look at our blog!

metalboxdesigns@gmail.com

 

The Table

Conceived by elite designer/artist, Jami Larsen.

This table has heavy loads of form, function, and raw industry.

The idea came from the chopping block, but with a removable, adjustable, steel base.

We started with laying out the 2"x3" boards, and preparing them for our threaded rod. Carefully measured up and drilled out 105 holes, all in line.

We ran 3/16" allthread through, and capped the ends with SS washers and Nyloc nuts.









After snugging the top down, we took it down to Tom Anderson at Creative Openings http://www.creativeopenings.com/, where he threw it in his massive planer and squared it off.

We wanted adjustability.

Something you could sit down with your laptop, or sit ten people around it for turkey dinner.

Raise it, lower it, whatever.

 

So we made it long, narrow, and gave it over 4" of adjustable height travel with these feet...

 



 That screw into the bottoms of these legs... 

 

 



Pretty ideal for standing, sitting, or just leveling out uneven floors.

 



Moving the table in and out of places was sure to be a pain at 8' long, so making it modular was key. All of the legs are attached by four 3/8" studs, nuts, and lock-washers, so just pop the legs off with a 9/16" wrench and take it anywhere.

(Anywhere you want a badass eight foot long adjustable height table)

 

 

We are considering making a few more of these tables, if you'd like one for your home or business please shoot us a message and we'll set you right up.
We left this table raw, but there are multiple finishes, colors, and protectants available for both the wood and metal, so a custom look is certainly achievable.

metalboxdesigns@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

Sam approved.

 

Gate Collaboration

 

 

Our buddy Andrew Fletcher-Love came to us with a beautiful backyard gate project, and we were happy to help.

Andrew (http://www.terra-tactile.com/) did all of the woodwork, aluminum, and design. Not only is he a talented trailbuilder, he knows his way around the shop and has an eye for design.

 

We came in and welded up the steel border, and aligned and welded the hinges, mounting studs, and the platforms for the uprights. We are pretty stoked on how it turned out.

 
 
 

Nice job Andrew!

 

Timber Post Caps

 

We had an opportunity to build some custom caps for these massive timbers supporting a new deck.
The owners wanted a specific size and color to match the rest of the house, so the contractors contacted us with a design.

Like most projects, we started out by laying out all of our pieces on the material, 1/4" aluminum plate, then building a jig.




The timbers are 8" x 8" so we went
slightly larger for a perfect
slip-fit.








Next, is to tack all the sides together and TIG weld them up!

A rough pass with the grinder, then it's fine tuning... smooth as possible using a 120g poly fan.

 

 

Mounting holes drilled and countersunk and it's off to the powder coaters.

 

We've been real happy with Mt. Baker Powder, here in Bellingham WA.

They were able to match the color exactly to the existing railing. Ready to install!

 

 

And there they are, fighting off the coastal Pacific Northwest elements and shining with all of their custom beauty.

 

 

Bellingham Bay Builders

We were recently commissioned to build a sign for the fine folks at Bellingham Bay Builders.
They wanted something steel and rustic to hang up at the Northwest Homes Show going on at the fairgrounds this past weekend. After the show it's being permanently affixed to the front of their shop downtown, 824 N. State St.



We took their new logo design and went Metalbox on it!



Please have a look at their site, they've done some amazing work.
http://www.bellinghambaybuilders.com/Default.aspx



Here's what we came up with for them;

They were looking for a sign that was four square feet, so we had their logo blown up to 22". The existing border was a bit thin for the sign application we thought, so this gave us a wider frame to work with.

BBB logo design by: Jeff Mack

Taped it up to some recycled corrugated board and went to X-acto town, removing all the negative space. Ready to transfer to the steel.

We decided on 1/2" cold rolled steel plate. We wanted something that looks burly, and wont distort too badly from the heat. This is what 80lbs of steel plate looks like!

 

Lots of detail in the trees.

Hand cut.

Oxy Acetylene was the weapon of choice. The kerf is consistent throughout the whole cut, as opposed to plasma. And no problems blasting through 1/2". Basic, simple, old-school and effective.

We matched the roof angle with some hand bent (Aargh!) 3/8" steel rod, and Tig welded them on to give this beast a place to hang.

Some grinding and polishing, and it's a sign... All 50 lbs of it. Built to last. They decided to leave it bare and let mother nature take it's course, up here in the Pacific Northwest near the saltwater I'm sure it won't be long before we see some surface rust. I'll throw up some pictures as it develops.

Thanks for checking it out!

-mbx

Need a sign similar to this for your business, or garden, on a wall in your living room? We'd love to make one for you. Give us your logo/design, or have us design one for you.

metalboxdesigns@gmail.com

 

 

Bootdryer Construction

Bootdryers are a hot item this year.  !!!

 We've been having a lot of fun making, selling, packing and shipping these things. We're also getting a lot of great feedback, people are really digging them. There are several in stock currently so now's the time to get your order in, simply send us an email; metalboxdesigns@gmail.com.

We threw together some shots of our Boot & Glove Vent Dryer as they're being built and shipped. Enjoy!

Thanks for checking us out!

-mbx